Erie County rally celebrates Marriage Equality Ruling

from NW PA Pride Alliance

On Friday, June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court issued their opinion in Obergefell v Hodges, which resulted in marriage equality becoming the law of the land. Several organizations held a celebration called Love Wins on the steps of the Erie County Courthouse, 140 W 6th St, Erie PA that night. Organizations represented included NW PA Pride Alliance, Greater Erie Alliance for Equality (GEAE), ACLU NW PA, NW PA National Organization for Women (NOW), Pennsylvania Equality Project, Community United Church, Keystone Progress, The Table, LBT Women of Erie, and Erie Gay News. Both local TV news crews as well as Erie Times News covered the event for local media. At least 90 people attended the event.

Speakers included Michael Mahler, president of NW PA Pride Alliance and co-editor for Erie Gay News; TJ and Wendy Titus, first same-sex couple to wed in Erie County (TJ came out as transgender in 2014) and who represented GEAE; Robert Rhodes, president of ACLU's NW PA chapter; Kathy and Tina Czarnecki-Smith, who have been married for 3 years (Kathy is a NW PA Pride Alliance board member and Tina is expecting the couple's first child in February); Susan Woodland, president of NW PA Now and secretary of Pennsylvania NOW; David Moore, president and found of Pennsylvania Equality Project (formerly Marriage Equality for PA); Daniel Doubet, organizer for Keystone Progress; Rich McCarty, senior pastor at Community United Church and tenured associate professor of religious studies at Mercyhurst University; and Ginger Richard, local social worker, who had written her master's thesis on marriage equality 11 years before. The event was emceed by Alex Sphon, treasurer for NW PA Pride Alliance.